Snow, ice and
other hazardous wintry conditions account for more than 4,000 lives and
thousands of injuries each year in the United States. And while keeping roads
clear is a major challenge for every state, doing so strategically and cost
effectively is largely dependent upon experience: knowing the trouble spots,
anticipating the locations that will freeze over first or be most dangerous
because of shading, elevation or north-facing curves.

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But new sensor
technology is being tested in four states on hundreds of plows. The new
technology is integrated into the plows and measures road and weather conditions.
Known as the Pikalert™ Enhanced Maintenance Decision Support System (EMDSS) the
system is being deployed in Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, and Long Island, New
York. If it passes key tests, it will be transferred to private vendors and
become available to additional states in time for next winter.

The new system combines the sensor measurements with satellite and radar
observations and computer weather models, giving officials an unprecedented
near-real time picture of road conditions. With updates every five to fifteen
minutes, EMDSS will enable transportation officials to swiftly home in on
dangerous stretches even before deteriorating conditions cause accidents.

"This offers the potential to transform winter driving safety," said
NCAR scientist Sheldon Drobot, who oversees the design of the system. "It gives
road crews an incredibly detailed, mile-by-mile view of road conditions. They
can quickly identify the stretches where dangerous ice and snow are building
up."

By equipping hundreds of snowplows and transportation supervisor trucks
with sensors, officials can now get information along every mile of the roads
traveled by the vehicles. The sensors collect weather data, such as temperature
and humidity, as well as indirect indications of road conditions, such as the
activation of anti-lock brakes or windshield wipers.

Using GPS technology, the measurements are coded with location and time.
They are transmitted via the Internet or dedicated radio frequencies or
cellular networks to an NCAR database, where they are integrated with other
local weather data, traffic observations, and details about the road’s surface
material. The resulting data are subjected to quality control measures to weed
out false positives (such as a vehicle slowing down because of construction
rather than slippery conditions) and relayed to
state transportation officials to give them a near—real-time view of ice and
snow buildup, as well as what to expect in the next few hours from incoming
weather systems.